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Pierre Omidyar

Pierre Omidyar is an entrepreneur and innovator who is best known as the founder of eBay.

A strong believer in the power of community, Pierre’s goal for Peer News is to empower citizens and encourage greater civic participation through media. He believes that a strong democracy requires an engaged society supported by effective news reporting and analysis. His vision for Civil Beat is to create a place where people can work together, despite their differences, to find solutions to the community’s most pressing issues.

Before starting eBay, Pierre was a co-founder of Ink Development Corp., later renamed eShop and acquired by Microsoft. Upon receiving his BS in computer science from Tufts University, Pierre worked as a consumer software engineer at Claris, a subsidiary of Apple Computer. Today, Pierre serves as founding partner of Omidyar Network, a trustee of Punahou School, and as chairman of eBay. Pierre is also an investor in Montage Hotels & Resorts.

Pierre and his wife, Pam, are also active philanthropists who believe everyone has something to contribute. You can read more about their work here. Pierre and Pam support many local causes through their work with the Hawaii Community Foundation. In 2009 they founded the Ulupono Initiative – a Hawaii-based social investment firm focused on renewable energy, local food production and waste management.

Pierre was born in Paris, France, and moved to the U.S. during grade school. He graduated with a computer science degree from Tufts University in 1988. Pierre lives in Honolulu with his wife and three children. If you see him driving down the road on his scooter, his friends recommend that you move to the other side.